Voting groups sue, say redistricting wrongly diluted voices

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST
Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Two voting-rights groups sued the state of Utah Thursday, seeking to block new redistricting maps they say unfairly solidify one-party GOP control and ignore a voter-approved independent commission. The League of Women Voters and Mormon Women for Ethical Government say the Republican-controlled Legislature swept aside the commission’s work and further carved up Democratic-leaning Salt Lake County to dilute its voting power. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox declined to comment directly on the lawsuit, but clarified he believes the maps were not illegal gerrymandering. The redistricting determines where voters cast their ballots for the next decade.